Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

Wisconsin was probably the most surprising conference champion in the whole country last year. They started the year 4-4 which included three straight losses to Richmond, New Mexico State, and NC State. All of those losses could have been considered bad.

But a blowout of Indiana in their first conference game flipped the script. Starting with that game they would go 17-6 and claim a share of the Big Ten title with Michigan State and Maryland. While the Terrapins have taken a huge step back and the Spartans lost Winston, the Badgers return most everybody.

The Badgers will be the most senior-heavy team in the conference, but they are very good and understand their roles better than anyone. They may drop off after this year, but with the talent and experience they have returning they are going to be the one everyone is chasing in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin only had three guys average double-figures last year, but they had four more average at least eight a game. They are extremely balanced and can flat out shoot from the outside. They shot 35% from deep as a team led by Micah Potter who came on strong at the end of the year knocking down a crazy 45% behind the arc.

Nate Reuvers is the leading returning scorer at 13.1 points per game and D’Mitrik average 9.8. Trice got off to a slow start last year, but once he got going the team really started to click.

We also can’t forget about the biggest villain in the Big Ten, Brad Davison. The Badgers love him, but the rest of the conference does not. Whether you believe he plays dirty or not, he is a tough-nosed player who is always causing problems for other teams.

The Badgers are the best team in the Big Ten heading into the 2020-21 season, but it is jumbled up top and could once again be the best conference in the country.